Cuzco’s Fairs Make Saturdays Fun

Every Saturday in Cuzco fairs appear on the city’s plazas. In them you will find gastronomy, flowers, pots, household goods, and much more. From 10 am on everything is ready for them to begin. Little by little people arrive to look for whatever is new.

Even just an hour after the fairs have begun, crowds have arrived. Everything is full. They walk down the rows to keep chaos at bay. The sellers announce their products with a loud voice. The call to the people who are walking by with words they hope will convince them to look and buy. Some of the words they use are: “Buy here and I will give you a good discount that you won’t find anywhere else.”

Guinea Pig, Tortillas, and More in Wanchaq

The hours pass and the time of lunch arrives. The vendors of food are ready. They have food made and plates and silverware ready to please people with their delicious preparations. In these fairs you will find a whole variety of typical dishes as well as ones that are not typical of the Imperial City of Cuzco. For example, you will find baked guinea pig (cuy al horno), chiriuchu, chicharrón, ceviche and other delights.

You will also find fun and joy. Some people claim the space by telling jokes and acting in a humorous fashion. Various people come up and put together a performance space by surrounding them in a circle. The comedians with their humor and performances know how to make anyone laugh. They do not charge anything. It is completely free, but at the end they ask, if you wish, to give them a small collaboration of a few soles or that you buy from them some candies.

Túpac Amaru Plaza and the Plaza San Francisco are two of the places where these fairs are carried out every weekend. They make Saturdays wonderful for you and your family and friends.